Vierge climbs to P9 in WorldSBK Race 1 at Aragón, Bridewell collates experience and key data

“To be honest, I was expecting more from today’s race. We had good pace and believed we could do well, but it was very difficult to make progress at the start. I felt I had a little more speed than the riders around me, but on the slow corners, especially on the exits, I couldn’t accelerate like them and lost a lot of time. Even though our bike is fast, it wasn’t enough to close the gap and overtake on the brakes, so the early laps cost me quite a lot. In the end, the position is what it is. I tried to fight until the finish and give it my all, but when Bassani arrived with more speed, it was the same situation again. The positive is that in sector one and sector two we are very strong, and even in qualifying I was right behind Toprak, losing practically nothing. But from turn nine onwards, that is where the problem with rear grip arises. It’s difficult to help the bike with my riding style, and that’s a little frustrating, but we know this is our weak point. We’ll keep working hard to try and limit the problem and see if we can fight for a better position tomorrow. As always, getting into the top nine in the Superpole race would also help a lot for the long race, so that will be another important target.”

“Honestly, it was okay today. I’m still struggling a bit with this track, especially when it comes to linking all the corners together - if you miss turn two, it affects three, then four, and so on. So my goal for this first race was simply to complete the 18 laps with consistent pace, with no big ups or downs, and that helped me to understand the circuit better. At the end of the day, Xavi’s job is to fight at the front, while my role is more about generating information and helping with development. I definitely felt happier and rode better than yesterday, even if I’m still adapting to the bike, which is quite different from what I’m used to. Racing pushes you harder than testing alone, and that makes the feedback even more valuable. I think we achieved that today, and now the team has good data to keep building for the future. For me personally, this weekend is also about enjoying the experience and working with the factory team – it really is like a childhood dream. To complete my first race with the Honda HRC team, bring the bike home in one piece and gather useful data is already a positive outcome.”